I’ve heard the phrase that the Jewish mama invented guilt, but the Catholic mother perfected it. Looking into the Old Testament, Adam and Eve created guilt the moment they bit into the apple and hid from God. So rest assured, all Jewish and Catholic mamas, you didn’t invent guilt. You are not guilty! In fact, we are all NOT GUILTY! Jesus didn’t die on the cross to forgive our sins just so we could continue to walk around feeling guilty for the things that we have done.
To be redeemed means that you are forgiven. In his book The Satisfied Life: Secrets for redefining your Life, Dr, Dennis Burke says this so eloquently that I need to share his words. He begins with Romans 3:22-24 KJV By Faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
He carries on to say: “According to those verses, the moment we believed in Jesus, we were justified. We became the just. Gigantic theological volumes have been written to explain exactly what that means. But, in the end, the concept of justification is best captured by this simple definition often taught to kids in Sunday school: To be justified means it’s-just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned…………………………………….
Now consider this: in the mind of God, it really is as if you’d never sinned. The Bible says He remembers your sin no more. Instead, He sees you as both again in the image of Jesus, made righteous on the inside with His own righteousness. And His Spirit is working to reveal that righteousness and justification in a way that transforms your life and makes it truly look like you’d never sinned.” pg 74-75
That’s faith! Knowing that you not only believe in Christ Jesus but acknowledge that he died on the cross and forgave your sin. You aren’t just believing that Christ lived! You are believing that God has forgiven and forgotten all that you did. You are believing in God’s salvation for all. As you walk the path to be the image of Christ Jesus by calling to God to guide you and looking to please only God and not this world, you are receiving God’s salvation. You are not guilty of your previous sins!
Imagine not worrying about the things you said that someone took offensively. Imagine being forgiven for the accident you caused while driving and looking at your phone. Imagine what it would be like to take back the words and acts you wish you hadn’t done as if they never happened. Pause and picture yourself as perfect and without fault as Jesus Christ.
Religion can make us feel very insignificant, shameful, and guilty. We can feel as if we will never be good enough for God. So we then try to be good enough for the world. We become people pleasers. We fall short there too. So, where do we turn to in order to feel good about who we are? God. God has already forgiven you and sees you as perfect as his son.
Dr. Dennis Burke continues to say on pg 75, “This is the real deal for God. He’s given us His Word on it, and He wants us to stand on that Word. He doesn’t want us trying to act all humble by telling Him we’re unworthy. He doesn’t want us dragging out all our past mistakes and whining about how weak and undeserving we are. Jesus paid the price for us to be free from all that whiney stuff. And God wants us to act on that freedom. He wants us to remind Him not of our past failures but of our present righteousness. That’s why He said
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted” Isaiah 43:25-26”.
After all, what benefit is it to continue to beat yourself up about something you have done? Exactly! God feels the same way. You are not guilty. By believing and having faith in Christ Jesus, you have God’s salvation right now! Hallelujah!
Voyage to HEAL Weekly Task
Stretch: I have started a 30 challenge to take 10 minutes every day to focus on my breathing. I know this was last week’s habitual change, but it’s this week’s stretch because it is just that important. This helps keep me in the right mind frame out of fight, flight, or freeze. It also keeps my pelvic floor and diaphragm flexible and strong. Just for this week, try to do the breathing meditation below each day and see what happens.
Exercise: Let’s do tree pose as we raise one foot to our ankle, shin, or thigh. Hands can be in prayer position, out to the side, or over your head. Hold this pose while you breathe in the meditation above. I’d suggest 2 minutes on each foot and then switch. I guarantee that you will see an improvement in your balance.
Habitual Change: Catch those shoulders clinging to your ears and let them be soft.
Perspective enlightenment: I am not guilty. I have been acquitted. God, I live to please only you.
Journaling option: List all the things you have been forgiven for and at the bottom of the list, write “and all things to come”. Then draw a big red X on the list and write NOT GUILTY! Forgiven and Forgotten!
If you are really struggling with forgiveness, I highly recommend Forgiving What you Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKuerst.
This week’s blog post coincides with week 10: Thank you. You can purchase this week in the store on the webpage. You can also purchase the Inner Peace Meditation CD or start your online Voyage to HEAL. Click here to visit the online store to find all of these items. Most importantly, start being kind to yourself always. As God gives you grace, so should you give it to yourself. Stop fighting yourself. Instead, love yourself.
Godspeed on your Voyage to HEAL
Love,
Jocelyn
